To refine a metal melt, it may be charged in a tilting converter which tilts between upright and horizontal positions, the side of the converter that is downward being provided with a tapping hole and the converter being internally contoured so that the refined melt forms a space above it while a downwardly angled channel-type inductor provides for adjusting the temperature of the melt to that desired. The converter can be gas-tight and provided with means for injecting a pressurized-gas into the space above the melt, the gas being non-oxidizing or inert with respect to the melt. By controlling the gas pressure in the space, the tapping rate of the melt can be controlled.
The high degree of refinement obtainable in such a converter, cannot be adequately retained by normal casting equipment. Furthermore, because the converter is pressurized during tapping, the refined melt may discharge from the tapping hole in the form of diverging droplets or a spray, and cannot be handled by conventional equipment.